Like a Branch, Your Courtesy

Shen Ruzhi’s entanglements with three men.

The first is Duan Qingli, son of the Prime Minister. Gifted in both letters and arms, he meets Shen Ruzhi at a poetry gathering hosted by her family and becomes the first person to stir her heart. Perhaps it is simply the first stirrings of love; not knowing what love means, she follows her heart. Duan Qingli has ties to a young lady of the Lin family. At the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, Miss Lin accuses Shen Ruzhi of pushing her into a lake. Duan Qingli believes her and demands an explanation from Shen Ruzhi, and her feelings for him gradually fade.

The second is Lu Zhaoheng, crown prince of Southern Chu. Domineering and forceful, he falls for her at first sight during the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. Unable to win her over, he summons her to the palace to serve as his study companion. When the Shen family is wiped out, he stays by her side through those dark days, and Shen Ruzhi begins to see him differently. Feelings for him start to grow in her heart.

The third is Shen Changming, also known as Qi Yan, crown prince of Xiling and the older brother who has been by Shen Ruzhi’s side since childhood. At her coming-of-age ceremony, he develops feelings for her that he should not have, and from then on they spiral out of control. At a hunting banquet, the people of Xiling notice the mark on his back. After investigating, they discover that he is the crown prince who was taken away as a child, and bring him back to Xiling…